Method and apparatus for setting user preferences or device configuration

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatuses for setting user preferences and/or device configuration information are disclosed. A first user device detects a local wireless network, receives, from a second user device, configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device, the second user device having functionality similar to the first user device, and updates configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device with at least a subset of the configuration information and/or preference information received from the second user device, the configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device stored at the first user device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application for patent claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/987,816, entitled “USER PREFERENCE SERVICE,” filed May 2, 2014, assigned to the assignee hereof, and expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure is related to a user preference service.

BACKGROUND

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computers and computer networks that use a standard Internet protocol suite (e.g., the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP)) to communicate with each other. The Internet of Things (IoT) is based on the idea that everyday objects, not just computers and computer networks, can be readable, recognizable, locatable, addressable, and controllable via an IoT communications network (e.g., an ad-hoc system or the Internet).

A number of market trends are driving development of IoT devices. For example, increasing energy costs are driving governments' strategic investments in smart grids and support for future consumption, such as for electric vehicles and public charging stations. Increasing health care costs and aging populations are driving development for remote/connected health care and fitness services. A technological revolution in the home is driving development for new “smart” services, including consolidation by service providers marketing ‘N’ play (e.g., data, voice, video, security, energy management, etc.) and expanding home networks. Buildings are getting smarter and more convenient as a means to reduce operational costs for enterprise facilities.

There are a number of key applications for the IoT. For example, in the area of smart grids and energy management, utility companies can optimize delivery of energy to homes and businesses while customers can better manage energy usage. In the area of home and building automation, smart homes and buildings can have centralized control over virtually any device or system in the home or office, from appliances to plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) security systems. In the field of asset tracking, enterprises, hospitals, factories, and other large organizations can accurately track the locations of high-value equipment, patients, vehicles, and so on. In the area of health and wellness, doctors can remotely monitor patients' health while people can track the progress of fitness routines.

Accordingly, in the near future, increasing development in IoT technologies will lead to numerous IoT devices surrounding a user at home, in vehicles, at work, and many other locations. As more and more devices become network-aware, problems that relate to configuring devices will therefore become more acute. One issue is creating a seamless experience when upgrading devices and transferring the end user's set of personal preferences from the old device to the new device. For example, a user may purchase a new smart TV that can tailor the viewing experiences to the person in the room. When the user first bought the old smart TV, the user had to program it with the user's preferences of what types of shows and movies the user likes to view, for example. The smart TV may also have learned these or other preferences of the user over time. When the user installs a new smart TV, however, the user will have to reprogram his or her personal preferences again, and/or the smart TV will have to learn these preferences again.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary relating to one or more aspects and/or embodiments disclosed herein for setting user preferences and/or device configuration information. As such, the following summary should not be considered an extensive overview relating to all contemplated aspects and/or embodiments, nor should the following summary be regarded to identify key or critical elements relating to all contemplated aspects and/or embodiments or to delineate the scope associated with any particular aspect and/or embodiment. Accordingly, the following summary has the sole purpose to present certain concepts relating to one or more aspects and/or embodiments relating to the mechanisms disclosed herein in a simplified form to precede the detailed description presented below.

A method for setting user preferences and/or device configuration information includes detecting, by a first user device, a local wireless network, receiving, from a second user device, configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device, the second user device having functionality similar to the first user device, and updating configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device with at least a subset of the configuration information and/or preference information received from the second user device, the configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device stored at the first user device.

An apparatus for setting user preferences and/or device configuration information includes a transceiver configured to detect, at a first user device, a local wireless network, and to receive, from a second user device, configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device, the second user device having functionality similar to the first user device, and a processor configured to update configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device with at least a subset of the configuration information and/or preference information received from the second user device, the configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device stored at the first user device.

An apparatus for setting user preferences and/or device configuration information includes means for detecting, by a first user device, a local wireless network, means for receiving, from a second user device, configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device, the second user device having functionality similar to the first user device, and means for updating configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device with at least a subset of the configuration information and/or preference information received from the second user device, the configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device stored at the first user device.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium for setting user preferences and/or device configuration information includes at least one instruction for detecting, by a first user device, a local wireless network, at least one instruction for receiving, from a second user device, configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device, the second user device having functionality similar to the first user device, and at least one instruction for updating configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device with at least a subset of the configuration information and/or preference information received from the second user device, the configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device stored at the first user device.

Other objects and advantages associated with the aspects and embodiments disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of aspects of the disclosure and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings which are presented solely for illustration and not limitation of the disclosure, and in which:

FIG. 1A illustrates a high-level system architecture of a wireless communications system in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 1B illustrates a high-level system architecture of a wireless communications system in accordance with another aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 1C illustrates a high-level system architecture of a wireless communications system in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 1D illustrates a high-level system architecture of a wireless communications system in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 1E illustrates a high-level system architecture of a wireless communications system in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 2A illustrates an exemplary Internet of Things (IoT) device in accordance with aspects of the disclosure, while FIG. 2B illustrates an exemplary passive IoT device in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a communication device that includes logic configured to perform functionality in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary server according to various aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a wireless communication network that may support discoverable peer-to-peer (P2P) services, in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary environment in which discoverable P2P services may be used to establish a proximity-based distributed bus over which various devices may communicate, in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary message sequence in which discoverable P2P services may be used to establish a proximity-based distributed bus over which various devices may communicate, in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure.

FIGS. 8A-C illustrate various examples of the user preference service in operation.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary flow for setting user preference information and/or device configuration information of a first user device.

FIGS. 10-11 are other simplified block diagrams of several sample aspects of apparatuses configured to support communication as taught herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Methods and apparatuses for setting user preferences and/or device configuration information are disclosed. A first user device detects a local wireless network, receives, from a second user device, configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device, the second user device having functionality similar to the first user device, and updates configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device with at least a subset of the configuration information and/or preference information received from the second user device, the configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device stored at the first user device.

These and other aspects are disclosed in the following description and related drawings to show specific examples relating to exemplary embodiments. Alternate embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the pertinent art upon reading this disclosure, and may be constructed and practiced without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements will not be described in detail or may be omitted so as to not obscure the relevant details of the aspects and embodiments disclosed herein.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Likewise, the term “embodiments” does not require that all embodiments include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation.

The terminology used herein describes particular embodiments only and should be construed to limit any embodiments disclosed herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Further, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be recognized that various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuits (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, these sequence of actions described herein can be considered to be embodied entirely within any form of computer readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that upon execution would cause an associated processor to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, the various aspects of the disclosure may be embodied in a number of different forms, all of which have been contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspects may be described herein as, for example, “logic configured to” perform the described action.

As used herein, the term “Internet of Things device” (or “IoT device”) may refer to any object (e.g., an appliance, a sensor, etc.) that has an addressable interface (e.g., an Internet protocol (IP) address, a Bluetooth identifier (ID), a near-field communication (NFC) ID, etc.) and can transmit information to one or more other devices over a wired or wireless connection. An IoT device may have a passive communication interface, such as a quick response (QR) code, a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag, an NFC tag, or the like, or an active communication interface, such as a modem, a transceiver, a transmitter-receiver, or the like. An IoT device can have a particular set of attributes (e.g., a device state or status, such as whether the IoT device is on or off, open or closed, idle or active, available for task execution or busy, and so on, a cooling or heating function, an environmental monitoring or recording function, a light-emitting function, a sound-emitting function, etc.) that can be embedded in and/or controlled/monitored by a central processing unit (CPU), microprocessor, ASIC, or the like, and configured for connection to an IoT network such as a local ad-hoc network or the Internet. For example, IoT devices may include, but are not limited to, refrigerators, toasters, ovens, microwaves, freezers, dishwashers, dishes, hand tools, clothes washers, clothes dryers, furnaces, air conditioners, thermostats, televisions, light fixtures, vacuum cleaners, sprinklers, electricity meters, gas meters, etc., so long as the devices are equipped with an addressable communications interface for communicating with the IoT network. IoT devices may also include cell phones, desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc. Accordingly, the IoT network may be comprised of a combination of “legacy” Internet-accessible devices (e.g., laptop or desktop computers, cell phones, etc.) in addition to devices that do not typically have Internet-connectivity (e.g., dishwashers, etc.).

FIG. 1A illustrates a high-level system architecture of a wireless communications system 100A in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure. The wireless communications system 100A contains a plurality of IoT devices, which include a television 110, an outdoor air conditioning unit 112, a thermostat 114, a refrigerator 116, and a washer and dryer 118.

Referring to FIG. 1A, IoT devices 110-118 are configured to communicate with an access network (e.g., an access point 125) over a physical communications interface or layer, shown in FIG. 1A as air interface 108 and a direct wired connection 109. The air interface 108 can comply with a wireless Internet protocol (IP), such as IEEE 802.11. Although FIG. 1A illustrates IoT devices 110-118 communicating over the air interface 108 and IoT device 118 communicating over the direct wired connection 109, each IoT device may communicate over a wired or wireless connection, or both.

The Internet 175 includes a number of routing agents and processing agents (not shown in FIG. 1A for the sake of convenience). The Internet 175 is a global system of interconnected computers and computer networks that uses a standard Internet protocol suite (e.g., the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and IP) to communicate among disparate devices/networks. TCP/IP provides end-to-end connectivity specifying how data should be formatted, addressed, transmitted, routed and received at the destination.

In FIG. 1A, a computer 120, such as a desktop or personal computer (PC), is shown as connecting to the Internet 175 directly (e.g., over an Ethernet connection or Wi-Fi or 802.11-based network). The computer 120 may have a wired connection to the Internet 175, such as a direct connection to a modem or router, which, in an example, can correspond to the access point 125 itself (e.g., for a Wi-Fi router with both wired and wireless connectivity). Alternatively, rather than being connected to the access point 125 and the Internet 175 over a wired connection, the computer 120 may be connected to the access point 125 over air interface 108 or another wireless interface, and access the Internet 175 over the air interface 108. Although illustrated as a desktop computer, computer 120 may be a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a PDA, a smart phone, or the like. The computer 120 may be an IoT device and/or contain functionality to manage an IoT network/group, such as the network/group of IoT devices 110-118.

The access point 125 may be connected to the Internet 175 via, for example, an optical communication system, such as FiOS, a cable modem, a digital subscriber line (DSL) modem, or the like. The access point 125 may communicate with IoT devices 110-120 and the Internet 175 using the standard Internet protocols (e.g., TCP/IP).

Referring to FIG. 1A, an IoT server 170 is shown as connected to the Internet 175. The IoT server 170 can be implemented as a plurality of structurally separate servers, or alternately may correspond to a single server. In an aspect, the IoT server 170 is optional (as indicated by the dotted line), and the group of IoT devices 110-120 may be a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. In such a case, the IoT devices 110-120 can communicate with each other directly over the air interface 108 and/or the direct wired connection 109. Alternatively, or additionally, some or all of IoT devices 110-120 may be configured with a communication interface independent of air interface 108 and direct wired connection 109. For example, if the air interface 108 corresponds to a Wi-Fi interface, one or more of the IoT devices 110-120 may have Bluetooth or NFC interfaces for communicating directly with each other or other Bluetooth or NFC-enabled devices.

In a peer-to-peer network, service discovery schemes can multicast the presence of nodes, their capabilities, and group membership. The peer-to-peer devices can establish associations and subsequent interactions based on this information.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, FIG. 1B illustrates a high-level architecture of another wireless communications system 100B that contains a plurality of IoT devices. In general, the wireless communications system 100B shown in FIG. 1B may include various components that are the same and/or substantially similar to the wireless communications system 100A shown in FIG. 1A, which was described in greater detail above (e.g., various IoT devices, including a television 110, outdoor air conditioning unit 112, thermostat 114, refrigerator 116, and washer and dryer 118, that are configured to communicate with an access point 125 over an air interface 108 and/or a direct wired connection 109, a computer 120 that directly connects to the Internet 175 and/or connects to the Internet 175 through access point 125, and an IoT server 170 accessible via the Internet 175, etc.). As such, for brevity and ease of description, various details relating to certain components in the wireless communications system 100B shown in FIG. 1B may be omitted herein to the extent that the same or similar details have already been provided above in relation to the wireless communications system 100A illustrated in FIG. 1A.

Referring to FIG. 1B, the wireless communications system 100B may include a supervisor device 130, which may alternatively be referred to as an IoT manager 130 or IoT manager device 130. As such, where the following description uses the term “supervisor device” 130, those skilled in the art will appreciate that any references to an IoT manager, group owner, or similar terminology may refer to the supervisor device 130 or another physical or logical component that provides the same or substantially similar functionality.

In one embodiment, the supervisor device 130 may generally observe, monitor, control, or otherwise manage the various other components in the wireless communications system 100B. For example, the supervisor device 130 can communicate with an access network (e.g., access point 125) over air interface 108 and/or a direct wired connection 109 to monitor or manage attributes, activities, or other states associated with the various IoT devices 110-120 in the wireless communications system 100B. The supervisor device 130 may have a wired or wireless connection to the Internet 175 and optionally to the IoT server 170 (shown as a dotted line). The supervisor device 130 may obtain information from the Internet 175 and/or the IoT server 170 that can be used to further monitor or manage attributes, activities, or other states associated with the various IoT devices 110-120. The supervisor device 130 may be a standalone device or one of IoT devices 110-120, such as computer 120. The supervisor device 130 may be a physical device or a software application running on a physical device. The supervisor device 130 may include a user interface that can output information relating to the monitored attributes, activities, or other states associated with the IoT devices 110-120 and receive input information to control or otherwise manage the attributes, activities, or other states associated therewith. Accordingly, the supervisor device 130 may generally include various components and support various wired and wireless communication interfaces to observe, monitor, control, or otherwise manage the various components in the wireless communications system 100B.

The wireless communications system 100B shown in FIG. 1B may include one or more passive IoT devices 105 (in contrast to the active IoT devices 110-120) that can be coupled to or otherwise made part of the wireless communications system 100B. In general, the passive IoT devices 105 may include barcoded devices, Bluetooth devices, radio frequency (RF) devices, RFID tagged devices, infrared (IR) devices, NFC tagged devices, or any other suitable device that can provide its identifier and attributes to another device when queried over a short range interface. Active IoT devices may detect, store, communicate, act on, and/or the like, changes in attributes of passive IoT devices.

For example, passive IoT devices 105 may include a coffee cup and a container of orange juice that each have an RFID tag or barcode. A cabinet IoT device and the refrigerator IoT device 116 may each have an appropriate scanner or reader that can read the RFID tag or barcode to detect when the coffee cup and/or the container of orange juice passive IoT devices 105 have been added or removed. In response to the cabinet IoT device detecting the removal of the coffee cup passive IoT device 105 and the refrigerator IoT device 116 detecting the removal of the container of orange juice passive IoT device, the supervisor device 130 may receive one or more signals that relate to the activities detected at the cabinet IoT device and the refrigerator IoT device 116. The supervisor device 130 may then infer that a user is drinking orange juice from the coffee cup and/or likes to drink orange juice from a coffee cup.

Although the foregoing describes the passive IoT devices 105 as having some form of RFID tag or barcode communication interface, the passive IoT devices 105 may include one or more devices or other physical objects that do not have such communication capabilities. For example, certain IoT devices may have appropriate scanner or reader mechanisms that can detect shapes, sizes, colors, and/or other observable features associated with the passive IoT devices 105 to identify the passive IoT devices 105. In this manner, any suitable physical object may communicate its identity and attributes and become part of the wireless communication system 100B and be observed, monitored, controlled, or otherwise managed with the supervisor device 130. Further, passive IoT devices 105 may be coupled to or otherwise made part of the wireless communications system 100A in FIG. 1A and observed, monitored, controlled, or otherwise managed in a substantially similar manner.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, FIG. 1C illustrates a high-level architecture of another wireless communications system 100C that contains a plurality of IoT devices. In general, the wireless communications system 100C shown in FIG. 1C may include various components that are the same and/or substantially similar to the wireless communications systems 100A and 100B shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, respectively, which were described in greater detail above. As such, for brevity and ease of description, various details relating to certain components in the wireless communications system 100C shown in FIG. 1C may be omitted herein to the extent that the same or similar details have already been provided above in relation to the wireless communications systems 100A and 100B illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, respectively.

The communications system 100C shown in FIG. 1C illustrates exemplary peer-to-peer communications between the IoT devices 110-118 and the supervisor device 130. As shown in FIG. 1C, the supervisor device 130 communicates with each of the IoT devices 110-118 over an IoT supervisor interface. Further, IoT devices 110 and 114, IoT devices 112, 114, and 116, and IoT devices 116 and 118, communicate directly with each other.

The IoT devices 110-118 make up an IoT group 160. An IoT device group 160 is a group of locally connected IoT devices, such as the IoT devices connected to a user's home network. Although not shown, multiple IoT device groups may be connected to and/or communicate with each other via an IoT SuperAgent 140 connected to the Internet 175. At a high level, the supervisor device 130 manages intra-group communications, while the IoT SuperAgent 140 can manage inter-group communications. Although shown as separate devices, the supervisor device 130 and the IoT SuperAgent 140 may be, or reside on, the same device (e.g., a standalone device or an IoT device, such as computer 120 in FIG. 1A). Alternatively, the IoT SuperAgent 140 may correspond to or include the functionality of the access point 125. As yet another alternative, the IoT SuperAgent 140 may correspond to or include the functionality of an IoT server, such as IoT server 170. The IoT SuperAgent 140 may encapsulate gateway functionality 145.

Each IoT device 110-118 can treat the supervisor device 130 as a peer and transmit attribute/schema updates to the supervisor device 130. When an IoT device needs to communicate with another IoT device, it can request the pointer to that IoT device from the supervisor device 130 and then communicate with the target IoT device as a peer. The IoT devices 110-118 communicate with each other over a peer-to-peer communication network using a common messaging protocol (CMP). As long as two IoT devices are CMP-enabled and connected over a common communication transport, they can communicate with each other. In the protocol stack, the CMP layer 154 is below the application layer 152 and above the transport layer 156 and the physical layer 158.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, FIG. 1D illustrates a high-level architecture of another wireless communications system 100D that contains a plurality of IoT devices. In general, the wireless communications system 100D shown in FIG. 1D may include various components that are the same and/or substantially similar to the wireless communications systems 100A-C shown in FIG. 1-C, respectively, which were described in greater detail above. As such, for brevity and ease of description, various details relating to certain components in the wireless communications system 100D shown in FIG. 1D may be omitted herein to the extent that the same or similar details have already been provided above in relation to the wireless communications systems 100A-C illustrated in FIGS. 1A-C, respectively.

The Internet 175 is a “resource” that can be regulated using the concept of the IoT. However, the Internet 175 is just one example of a resource that is regulated, and any resource could be regulated using the concept of the IoT. Other resources that can be regulated include, but are not limited to, electricity, gas, storage, security, and the like. An IoT device may be connected to the resource and thereby regulate it, or the resource could be regulated over the Internet 175. FIG. 1D illustrates several resources 180, such as natural gas, gasoline, hot water, and electricity, wherein the resources 180 can be regulated in addition to and/or over the Internet 175.

IoT devices can communicate with each other to regulate their use of a resource 180. For example, IoT devices such as a toaster, a computer, and a hairdryer may communicate with each other over a Bluetooth communication interface to regulate their use of electricity (the resource 180). As another example, IoT devices such as a desktop computer, a telephone, and a tablet computer may communicate over a Wi-Fi communication interface to regulate their access to the Internet 175 (the resource 180). As yet another example, IoT devices such as a stove, a clothes dryer, and a water heater may communicate over a Wi-Fi communication interface to regulate their use of gas. Alternatively, or additionally, each IoT device may be connected to an IoT server, such as IoT server 170, which has logic to regulate their use of the resource 180 based on information received from the IoT devices.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, FIG. 1E illustrates a high-level architecture of another wireless communications system 100E that contains a plurality of IoT devices. In general, the wireless communications system 100E shown in FIG. 1E may include various components that are the same and/or substantially similar to the wireless communications systems 100A-D shown in FIG. 1-D, respectively, which were described in greater detail above. As such, for brevity and ease of description, various details relating to certain components in the wireless communications system 100E shown in FIG. 1E may be omitted herein to the extent that the same or similar details have already been provided above in relation to the wireless communications systems 100A-D illustrated in FIGS. 1A-D, respectively.

The communications system 100E includes two IoT device groups 160A and 160B. Multiple IoT device groups may be connected to and/or communicate with each other via an IoT SuperAgent connected to the Internet 175. At a high level, an IoT SuperAgent may manage inter-group communications among IoT device groups. For example, in FIG. 1E, the IoT device group 160A includes IoT devices 116A, 122A, and 124A and an IoT SuperAgent 140A, while IoT device group 160B includes IoT devices 116B, 122B, and 124B and an IoT SuperAgent 140B. As such, the IoT SuperAgents 140A and 140B may connect to the Internet 175 and communicate with each other over the Internet 175 and/or communicate with each other directly to facilitate communication between the IoT device groups 160A and 160B. Furthermore, although FIG. 1E illustrates two IoT device groups 160A and 160B communicating with each other via IoT SuperAgents 140A and 140B, those skilled in the art will appreciate that any number of IoT device groups may suitably communicate with each other using IoT SuperAgents.

FIG. 2A illustrates a high-level example of an IoT device 200A in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. While external appearances and/or internal components can differ significantly among IoT devices, most IoT devices will have some sort of user interface, which may comprise a display and a means for user input. IoT devices without a user interface can be communicated with remotely over a wired or wireless network, such as air interface 108 in FIGS. 1A-B.

As shown in FIG. 2A, in an example configuration for the IoT device 200A, an external casing of IoT device 200A may be configured with a display 226, a power button 222, and two control buttons 224A and 224B, among other components, as is known in the art. The display 226 may be a touchscreen display, in which case the control buttons 224A and 224B may not be necessary. While not shown explicitly as part of IoT device 200A, the IoT device 200A may include one or more external antennas and/or one or more integrated antennas that are built into the external casing, including but not limited to Wi-Fi antennas, cellular antennas, satellite position system (SPS) antennas (e.g., global positioning system (GPS) antennas), and so on.

While internal components of IoT devices, such as IoT device 200A, can be embodied with different hardware configurations, a basic high-level configuration for internal hardware components is shown as platform 202 in FIG. 2A. The platform 202 can receive and execute software applications, data and/or commands transmitted over a network interface, such as air interface 108 in FIGS. 1A-B and/or a wired interface. The platform 202 can also independently execute locally stored applications. The platform 202 can include one or more transceivers 206 configured for wired and/or wireless communication (e.g., a Wi-Fi transceiver, a Bluetooth transceiver, a cellular transceiver, a satellite transceiver, a GPS or SPS receiver, etc.) operably coupled to one or more processors 208, such as a microcontroller, microprocessor, application specific integrated circuit, digital signal processor (DSP), programmable logic circuit, or other data processing device, which will be generally referred to as processor 208. The processor 208 can execute application programming instructions within a memory 212 of the IoT device. The memory 212 can include one or more of read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash cards, or any memory common to computer platforms. One or more input/output (I/O) interfaces 214 can be configured to allow the processor 208 to communicate with and control from various I/O devices such as the display 226, power button 222, control buttons 224A and 224B as illustrated, and any other devices, such as sensors, actuators, relays, valves, switches, and the like associated with the IoT device 200A. The platform 202 may also include a preference/configuration module 216, which may be stored in memory 212 and executable by processor 208, or may be a hardware components coupled to or integrated into processor 208.

Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure can include an IoT device (e.g., IoT device 200A) including the ability to perform the functions described herein. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the various logic elements can be embodied in discrete elements, software modules executed on a processor (e.g., processor 208) or any combination of software and hardware to achieve the functionality disclosed herein. For example, transceiver 206, processor 208, memory 212, I/O interface 214, and/or preference/configuration module 216 may all be used cooperatively to load, store and execute the various functions disclosed herein and thus the logic to perform these functions may be distributed over various elements. Alternatively, the functionality could be incorporated into one discrete component, such as the preference/configuration module 216. Therefore, the features of the IoT device 200A in FIG. 2A are to be considered merely illustrative and the disclosure is not limited to the illustrated features or arrangement.

For example, where the IoT device 200A is configured to set user preferences and/or device configuration information as described herein, upon the transceiver 206 detecting a local wireless network, the preference/configuration module 216 (in conjunction with the processor 208 where the preference/configuration module 216 is an executable module stored in memory 212) may be configured to receive, from a second user device (via the transceiver 206), configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device, the second user device having functionality similar to the IoT device 200A, and update configuration information and/or preference information of the IoT device 200A with at least a subset of the configuration information and/or preference information received from the second user device, the configuration information and/or preference information of IoT device UE 200A stored at the IoT device 200A, e.g., in memory 212.

FIG. 2B illustrates a high-level example of a passive IoT device 200B in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. In general, the passive IoT device 200B shown in FIG. 2B may include various components that are the same and/or substantially similar to the IoT device 200A shown in FIG. 2A, which was described in greater detail above. As such, for brevity and ease of description, various details relating to certain components in the passive IoT device 200B shown in FIG. 2B may be omitted herein to the extent that the same or similar details have already been provided above in relation to the IoT device 200A illustrated in FIG. 2A.

The passive IoT device 200B shown in FIG. 2B may generally differ from the IoT device 200A shown in FIG. 2A in that the passive IoT device 200B may not have a processor, internal memory, or certain other components. Instead, in one embodiment, the passive IoT device 200B may only include an I/O interface 214 or other suitable mechanism that allows the passive IoT device 200B to be observed, monitored, controlled, managed, or otherwise known within a controlled IoT network. For example, in one embodiment, the I/O interface 214 associated with the passive IoT device 200B may include a barcode, Bluetooth interface, radio frequency (RF) interface, RFID tag, IR interface, NFC interface, or any other suitable I/O interface that can provide an identifier and attributes associated with the passive IoT device 200B to another device when queried over a short range interface (e.g., an active IoT device, such as IoT device 200A, that can detect, store, communicate, act on, or otherwise process information relating to the attributes associated with the passive IoT device 200B).

Although the foregoing describes the passive IoT device 200B as having some form of RF, barcode, or other I/O interface 214, the passive IoT device 200B may comprise a device or other physical object that does not have such an I/O interface 214. For example, certain IoT devices may have appropriate scanner or reader mechanisms that can detect shapes, sizes, colors, and/or other observable features associated with the passive IoT device 200B to identify the passive IoT device 200B. In this manner, any suitable physical object may communicate its identity and attributes and be observed, monitored, controlled, or otherwise managed within a controlled IoT network.

Further, depending on the level of processing available at the passive IoT device 200B, the passive IoT device 200B may optionally include a preference/configuration module 216. The preference/configuration module 216 may be a standalone circuit that, when powered, is configured to perform the functionality described herein. For example, the preference/configuration module 216 may be embodied on an RFID tag that, when energized, receives, from a second user device (via the transceiver 206), configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device, and updates configuration information and/or preference information of the UE 200B with at least a subset of the configuration information and/or preference information received from the second user device.

FIG. 3 illustrates a communication device 300 that includes logic configured to perform functionality. The communication device 300 can correspond to any of the above-noted communication devices, including but not limited to IoT devices 110-120, IoT device 200A, any components coupled to the Internet 175 (e.g., the IoT server 170), and so on. Thus, communication device 300 can correspond to any electronic device that is configured to communicate with (or facilitate communication with) one or more other entities over the wireless communications systems 100A-B of FIGS. 1A-B.

Referring to FIG. 3, the communication device 300 includes logic configured to receive and/or transmit information 305. In an example, if the communication device 300 corresponds to a wireless communications device (e.g., IoT device 200A and/or passive IoT device 200B), the logic configured to receive and/or transmit information 305 can include a wireless communications interface (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, Long-Term Evolution (LTE) Direct, etc.) such as a wireless transceiver and associated hardware (e.g., an RF antenna, a MODEM, a modulator and/or demodulator, etc.). In another example, the logic configured to receive and/or transmit information 305 can correspond to a wired communications interface (e.g., a serial connection, a USB or Firewire connection, an Ethernet connection through which the Internet 175 can be accessed, etc.). Thus, if the communication device 300 corresponds to some type of network-based server (e.g., the IoT server 170), the logic configured to receive and/or transmit information 305 can correspond to an Ethernet card, in an example, that connects the network-based server to other communication entities via an Ethernet protocol. In a further example, the logic configured to receive and/or transmit information 305 can include sensory or measurement hardware by which the communication device 300 can monitor its local environment (e.g., an accelerometer, a temperature sensor, a light sensor, an antenna for monitoring local RF signals, etc.). The logic configured to receive and/or transmit information 305 can also include software that, when executed, permits the associated hardware of the logic configured to receive and/or transmit information 305 to perform its reception and/or transmission function(s). However, the logic configured to receive and/or transmit information 305 does not correspond to software alone, and the logic configured to receive and/or transmit information 305 relies at least in part upon hardware to achieve its functionality.

Referring to FIG. 3, the communication device 300 further includes logic configured to process information 310. In an example, the logic configured to process information 310 can include at least a processor. Example implementations of the type of processing that can be performed by the logic configured to process information 310 includes but is not limited to performing determinations, establishing connections, making selections between different information options, performing evaluations related to data, interacting with sensors coupled to the communication device 300 to perform measurement operations, converting information from one format to another (e.g., between different protocols such as .wmv to .avi, etc.), and so on. For example, the processor included in the logic configured to process information 310 can correspond to a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration). The logic configured to process information 310 can also include software that, when executed, permits the associated hardware of the logic configured to process information 310 to perform its processing function(s). However, the logic configured to process information 310 does not correspond to software alone, and the logic configured to process information 310 relies at least in part upon hardware to achieve its functionality.

Referring to FIG. 3, the communication device 300 further includes logic configured to store information 315. In an example, the logic configured to store information 315 can include at least a non-transitory memory and associated hardware (e.g., a memory controller, etc.). For example, the non-transitory memory included in the logic configured to store information 315 can correspond to RAM, flash memory, ROM, erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), EEPROM, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. The logic configured to store information 315 can also include software that, when executed, permits the associated hardware of the logic configured to store information 315 to perform its storage function(s). However, the logic configured to store information 315 does not correspond to software alone, and the logic configured to store information 315 relies at least in part upon hardware to achieve its functionality.

Where the communication device 300 is configured to set user preferences and/or device configuration information, as described herein, the logic configured to receive and/or transmit information 305 may be configured to detect a local wireless network and receive, from a second user device, configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device, the second user device having functionality similar to the communication device 300. The logic configured to process information 310 may be configured to update configuration information and/or preference information of the communication device 300 with at least a subset of the configuration information and/or preference information received from the second user device. The logic configured to store information 310 may be configured to store the configuration information and/or preference information of the communication device 300.

Referring to FIG. 3, the communication device 300 further optionally includes logic configured to present information 320. In an example, the logic configured to present information 320 can include at least an output device and associated hardware. For example, the output device can include a video output device (e.g., a display screen, a port that can carry video information such as USB, HDMI, etc.), an audio output device (e.g., speakers, a port that can carry audio information such as a microphone jack, USB, HDMI, etc.), a vibration device and/or any other device by which information can be formatted for output or actually outputted by a user or operator of the communication device 300. For example, if the communication device 300 corresponds to the IoT device 200A as shown in FIG. 2A and/or the passive IoT device 200B as shown in FIG. 2B, the logic configured to present information 320 can include the display 226. In a further example, the logic configured to present information 320 can be omitted for certain communication devices, such as network communication devices that do not have a local user (e.g., network switches or routers, remote servers, etc.). The logic configured to present information 320 can also include software that, when executed, permits the associated hardware of the logic configured to present information 320 to perform its presentation function(s). However, the logic configured to present information 320 does not correspond to software alone, and the logic configured to present information 320 relies at least in part upon hardware to achieve its functionality.

Referring to FIG. 3, the communication device 300 further optionally includes logic configured to receive local user input 325. In an example, the logic configured to receive local user input 325 can include at least a user input device and associated hardware. For example, the user input device can include buttons, a touchscreen display, a keyboard, a camera, an audio input device (e.g., a microphone or a port that can carry audio information such as a microphone jack, etc.), and/or any other device by which information can be received from a user or operator of the communication device 300. For example, if the communication device 300 corresponds to the IoT device 200A as shown in FIG. 2A and/or the passive IoT device 200B as shown in FIG. 2B, the logic configured to receive local user input 325 can include the buttons 222, 224A, and 224B, the display 226 (if a touchscreen), etc. In a further example, the logic configured to receive local user input 325 can be omitted for certain communication devices, such as network communication devices that do not have a local user (e.g., network switches or routers, remote servers, etc.). The logic configured to receive local user input 325 can also include software that, when executed, permits the associated hardware of the logic configured to receive local user input 325 to perform its input reception function(s). However, the logic configured to receive local user input 325 does not correspond to software alone, and the logic configured to receive local user input 325 relies at least in part upon hardware to achieve its functionality.

Referring to FIG. 3, while the configured logics of 305 through 325 are shown as separate or distinct blocks in FIG. 3, it will be appreciated that the hardware and/or software by which the respective configured logic performs its functionality can overlap in part. For example, any software used to facilitate the functionality of the configured logics of 305 through 325 can be stored in the non-transitory memory associated with the logic configured to store information 315, such that the configured logics of 305 through 325 each performs their functionality (i.e., in this case, software execution) based in part upon the operation of software stored by the logic configured to store information 315. Likewise, hardware that is directly associated with one of the configured logics can be borrowed or used by other configured logics from time to time. For example, the processor of the logic configured to process information 310 can format data into an appropriate format before being transmitted by the logic configured to receive and/or transmit information 305, such that the logic configured to receive and/or transmit information 305 performs its functionality (i.e., in this case, transmission of data) based in part upon the operation of hardware (i.e., the processor) associated with the logic configured to process information 310.

Generally, unless stated otherwise explicitly, the phrase “logic configured to” as used throughout this disclosure is intended to invoke an aspect that is at least partially implemented with hardware, and is not intended to map to software-only implementations that are independent of hardware. Also, it will be appreciated that the configured logic or “logic configured to” in the various blocks are not limited to specific logic gates or elements, but generally refer to the ability to perform the functionality described herein (either via hardware or a combination of hardware and software). Thus, the configured logics or “logic configured to” as illustrated in the various blocks are not necessarily implemented as logic gates or logic elements despite sharing the word “logic.” Other interactions or cooperation between the logic in the various blocks will become clear to one of ordinary skill in the art from a review of the aspects described below in more detail.

The various embodiments may be implemented on any of a variety of commercially available server devices, such as server 400 illustrated in FIG. 4. In an example, the server 400 may correspond to one example configuration of the supervisor device 130 or the IoT server 170 described above. In FIG. 4, the server 400 includes a processor 401 coupled to volatile memory 402 and a large capacity nonvolatile memory, such as a disk drive 403. The server 400 may also include a floppy disc drive, compact disc (CD) or DVD disc drive 406 coupled to the processor 401. The server 400 may also include network access ports 404 coupled to the processor 401 for establishing data connections with a network 407, such as a local area network coupled to other broadcast system computers and servers or to the Internet. In context with FIG. 3, it will be appreciated that the server 400 of FIG. 4 illustrates one example implementation of the communication device 300, whereby the logic configured to transmit and/or receive information 305 corresponds to the network access points 404 used by the server 400 to communicate with the network 407, the logic configured to process information 310 corresponds to the processor 401, and the logic configuration to store information 315 corresponds to any combination of the volatile memory 402, the disk drive 403 and/or the disc drive 406. The optional logic configured to present information 320 and the optional logic configured to receive local user input 325 are not shown explicitly in FIG. 4 and may or may not be included therein. Thus, FIG. 4 helps to demonstrate that the communication device 300 may be implemented as a server, in addition to an IoT device implementation as in FIG. 2A.

Referring to FIG. 4, the server 400 may be configured to facilitate a first user device setting user preferences and/or device configuration information, as discussed herein. In such an embodiment, the server 400 may include a preference/configuration module 416, which may be stored in memory 403, for example, and executable by processor 401, or may be a hardware components coupled to or integrated into processor 401. In operation, upon the server 400 detecting that the first user device has joined a local wireless network, the server 400 (specifically the preference/configuration module 416 in conjunction with processor 401 and network access ports 404) may send configuration information and/or preference information of a second user device to the first user device, the second user device having functionality similar to the first user device. The first user device may then update configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device with at least a subset of the configuration information and/or preference information received from the second user device. The configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device and the second user device may be stored at both the server 400 and the first user device.

In general, user equipment (UE) such as telephones, tablet computers, laptop and desktop computers, certain vehicles, etc., can be configured to connect with each other either locally (e.g., Bluetooth, local Wi-Fi, etc.) or remotely (e.g., via cellular networks, through the Internet, etc.). Furthermore, certain UEs may also support proximity-based peer-to-peer (P2P) communication using certain wireless networking technologies (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, etc.) that enable devices to make a one-to-one connection or simultaneously connect to a group that includes several devices in order to directly communicate with one another. To that end, FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication network or WAN 500 that may support discoverable P2P services. For example, in one embodiment, the wireless communication network 500 may comprise an LTE network or another suitable WAN that includes various base stations 510 and other network entities. For simplicity, only three base stations 510 a, 510 b and 510 c, one network controller 530, and one Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server 540 are shown in FIG. 5. A base station 510 may be an entity that communicates with devices 520 and may also be referred to as a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), an access point, etc. Each base station 510 may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area and may support communication for the devices 520 located within the coverage area. To improve network capacity, the overall coverage area of a base station 510 may be partitioned into multiple (e.g., three) smaller areas, wherein each smaller area may be served by a respective base station 510. In 3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to a coverage area of a base station 510 and/or a base station subsystem 510 serving this coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. In 3GPP2, the term “sector” or “cell-sector” can refer to a coverage area of a base station 510 and/or a base station subsystem 510 serving this coverage area. For clarity, the 3GPP concept of “cell” may be used in the description herein.

A base station 510 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and/or other cell types. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by devices 520 with service subscription. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by devices 520 with service subscription. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access by devices 520 having association with the femto cell (e.g., devices 520 in a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG)). In the example shown in FIG. 5, wireless network 500 includes macro base stations 510 a, 510 b and 510 c for macro cells. Wireless network 500 may also include pico base stations 510 for pico cells and/or home base stations 510 for femto cells (not shown in FIG. 5).

Network controller 530 may couple to a set of base stations 510 and may provide coordination and control for these base stations 510. Network controller 530 may be a single network entity or a collection of network entities that can communicate with the base stations via a backhaul. The base stations may also communicate with one another, e.g., directly or indirectly via wireless or wireline backhaul. DHCP server 540 may support P2P communication, as described below. DHCP server 540 may be part of wireless network 500, external to wireless network 500, run via Internet Connection Sharing (ICS), or any suitable combination thereof. DHCP server 540 may be a separate entity (e.g., as shown in FIG. 5) or may be part of a base station 510, network controller 530, or some other entity. In any case, DHCP server 540 may be reachable by devices 520 desiring to communicate peer-to-peer.

Devices 520 may be dispersed throughout wireless network 500, and each device 520 may be stationary or mobile. A device 520 may also be referred to as a node, user equipment (UE), a station, a mobile station, a terminal, an access terminal, a subscriber unit, etc. A device 520 may be a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a smart phone, a netbook, a smartbook, a tablet, etc. A device 520 may communicate with base stations 510 in the wireless network 500 and may further communicate peer-to-peer with other devices 520. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, devices 520 a and 520 b may communicate peer-to-peer, devices 520 c and 520 d may communicate peer-to-peer, devices 520 e and 520 f may communicate peer-to-peer, and devices 520 g, 520 h, and 520 i may communicate peer-to-peer, while remaining devices 520 may communicate with base stations 510. As further shown in FIG. 5, devices 520 a, 520 d, 520 f, and 520 h may also communicate with base stations 500, e.g., when not engaged in P2P communication or possibly concurrent with P2P communication.

In the description herein, WAN communication may refer to communication between a device 520 and a base station 510 in wireless network 500, e.g., for a call with a remote entity such as another device 520. A WAN device is a device 520 that is interested or engaged in WAN communication. P2P communication refers to direct communication between two or more devices 520, without going through any base station 510. A P2P device is a device 520 that is interested or engaged in P2P communication, e.g., a device 520 that has traffic data for another device 520 within proximity of the P2P device. Two devices may be considered to be within proximity of one another, for example, if each device 520 can detect the other device 520. In general, a device 520 may communicate with another device 520 either directly for P2P communication or via at least one base station 510 for WAN communication.

In one embodiment, direct communication between P2P devices 520 may be organized into P2P groups. More particularly, a P2P group generally refers to a group of two or more devices 520 interested or engaged in P2P communication and a P2P link refers to a communication link for a P2P group. Furthermore, in one embodiment, a P2P group may include one device 520 designated a P2P group owner (or a P2P server) and one or more devices 520 designated P2P clients that are served by the P2P group owner. The P2P group owner may perform certain management functions such as exchanging signaling with a WAN, coordinating data transmission between the P2P group owner and P2P clients, etc. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a first P2P group includes devices 520 a and 520 b under the coverage of base station 510 a, a second P2P group includes devices 520 c and 520 d under the coverage of base station 510 b, a third P2P group includes devices 520 e and 520 f under the coverage of different base stations 510 b and 510 c, and a fourth P2P group includes devices 520 g, 520 h and 520 i under the coverage of base station 510 c. Devices 520 a, 520 d, 520 f, and 520 h may be P2P group owners for their respective P2P groups and devices 520 b, 520 c, 520 e, 520 g, and 520 i may be P2P clients in their respective P2P groups. The other devices 520 in FIG. 5 may be engaged in WAN communication.

In one embodiment, P2P communication may occur only within a P2P group and may further occur only between the P2P group owner and the P2P clients associated therewith. For example, if two P2P clients within the same P2P group (e.g., devices 520 g and 520 i) desire to exchange information, one of the P2P clients may send the information to the P2P group owner (e.g., device 520 h) and the P2P group owner may then relay transmissions to the other P2P client. In one embodiment, a particular device 520 may belong to multiple P2P groups and may behave as either a P2P group owner or a P2P client in each P2P group. Furthermore, in one embodiment, a particular P2P client may belong to only one P2P group or belong to multiple P2P group and communicate with P2P devices 520 in any of the multiple P2P groups at any particular moment. In general, communication may be facilitated via transmissions on the downlink and uplink. For WAN communication, the downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from base stations 510 to devices 520, and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from devices 520 to base stations 510. For P2P communication, the P2P downlink refers to the communication link from P2P group owners to P2P clients and the P2P uplink refers to the communication link from P2P clients to P2P group owners. In certain embodiments, rather than using WAN technologies to communicate P2P, two or more devices may form smaller P2P groups and communicate P2P on a wireless local area network (WLAN) using technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi Direct. For example, P2P communication using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, or other WLAN technologies may enable P2P communication between two or more mobile phones, game consoles, laptop computers, or other suitable communication entities.

According to one aspect of the disclosure, FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary environment 600 in which discoverable P2P services may be used to establish a proximity-based distributed bus over which various devices 610, 630, 640 may communicate. For example, in one embodiment, communications between applications and the like, on a single platform may be facilitated using an interprocess communication protocol (IPC) framework over the distributed bus 625, which may comprise a software bus used to enable application-to-application communications in a networked computing environment where applications register with the distributed bus 625 to offer services to other applications and other applications query the distributed bus 625 for information about registered applications. Such a protocol may provide asynchronous notifications and remote procedure calls (RPCs) in which signal messages (e.g., notifications) may be point-to-point or broadcast, method call messages (e.g., RPCs) may be synchronous or asynchronous, and the distributed bus 625 (e.g., a “daemon” bus process) may handle message routing between the various devices 610, 630, 640.

In one embodiment, the distributed bus 625 may be supported by a variety of transport protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, TCP/IP, Wi-Fi, CDMA, GPRS, UMTS, etc.). For example, according to one aspect, a first device 610 may include a distributed bus node 612 and one or more local endpoints 614, wherein the distributed bus node 612 may facilitate communications between local endpoints 614 associated with the first device 610 and local endpoints 634 and 644 associated with a second device 630 and a third device 640 through the distributed bus 625 (e.g., via distributed bus nodes 632 and 642 on the second device 630 and the third device 640). As will be described in further detail below with reference to FIG. 7, the distributed bus 625 may support symmetric multi-device network topologies and may provide a robust operation in the presence of device drops-outs. As such, the virtual distributed bus 625, which may generally be independent from any underlying transport protocol (e.g., Bluetooth, TCP/IP, Wi-Fi, etc.) may allow various security options, from unsecured (e.g., open) to secured (e.g., authenticated and encrypted), wherein the security options can be used while facilitating spontaneous connections with among the first device 610, the second device 630, and the third device 640 without intervention when the various devices 610, 630, 640 come into range or proximity to each other.

According to one aspect of the disclosure, FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary message sequence 700 in which discoverable P2P services may be used to establish a proximity-based distributed bus over which a first device (“Device A”) 710 and a second device (“Device B”) 730 may communicate. Generally, Device A 710 may request to communicate with Device B 730, wherein Device A 710 may a include local endpoint 714 (e.g., a local application, service, etc.), which may make a request to communicate in addition to a bus node 712 that may assist in facilitating such communications. Further, Device B 730 may include a local endpoint 734 with which the local endpoint 714 may be attempting to communicate in addition to a bus node 732 that may assist in facilitating communications between the local endpoint 714 on the Device A 710 and the local endpoint 734 on Device B 730.

In one embodiment, the bus nodes 712 and 732 may perform a suitable discovery mechanism at message sequence step 754. For example, mechanisms for discovering connections supported by Bluetooth, TCP/IP, UNIX, or the like may be used. At message sequence step 756, the local endpoint 714 on Device A 710 may request to connect to an entity, service, endpoint etc., available through bus node 712. In one embodiment, the request may include a request-and-response process between local endpoint 714 and bus node 712. At message sequence step 758, a distributed message bus may be formed to connect bus node 712 to bus node 732 and thereby establish a P2P connection between Device A 710 and Device B 730. In one embodiment, communications to form the distributed bus between the bus nodes 712 and 732 may be facilitated using a suitable proximity-based P2P protocol (e.g., the AllJoyn™ software framework designed to enable interoperability among connected products and software applications from different manufacturers to dynamically create proximal networks and facilitate proximal P2P communication). Alternatively, in one embodiment, a server (not shown) may facilitate the connection between the bus nodes 712 and 732. Furthermore, in one embodiment, a suitable authentication mechanism may be used prior to forming the connection between bus nodes 712 and 732 (e.g., SASL authentication in which a client may send an authentication command to initiate an authentication conversation). Still further, during message sequence step 758, bus nodes 712 and 732 may exchange information about other available endpoints (e.g., local endpoints 644 on Device C 640 in FIG. 6). In such embodiments, each local endpoint that a bus node maintains may be advertised to other bus nodes, wherein the advertisement may include unique endpoint names, transport types, connection parameters, or other suitable information.

In one embodiment, at message sequence step 760, bus node 712 and bus node 732 may use obtained information associated with the local endpoints 734 and 714, respectively, to create virtual endpoints that may represent the real obtained endpoints available through various bus nodes. In one embodiment, message routing on the bus node 712 may use real and virtual endpoints to deliver messages. Further, there may one local virtual endpoint for every endpoint that exists on remote devices (e.g., Device A 710). Still further, such virtual endpoints may multiplex and/or de-multiplex messages sent over the distributed bus (e.g., a connection between bus node 712 and bus node 732). In one aspect, virtual endpoints may receive messages from the local bus node 712 or 732, just like real endpoints, and may forward messages over the distributed bus. As such, the virtual endpoints may forward messages to the local bus nodes 712 and 732 from the endpoint multiplexed distributed bus connection. Furthermore, in one embodiment, virtual endpoints that correspond to virtual endpoints on a remote device may be reconnected at any time to accommodate desired topologies of specific transport types. In such an aspect, UNIX based virtual endpoints may be considered local and as such may not be considered candidates for reconnection. Further, TCP-based virtual endpoints may be optimized for one hop routing (e.g., each bus node 712 and 732 may be directly connected to each other). Still further, Bluetooth-based virtual endpoints may be optimized for a single pico-net (e.g., one master and n slaves) in which the Bluetooth-based master may be the same bus node as a local master node.

At message sequence step 762, the bus node 712 and the bus node 732 may exchange bus state information to merge bus instances and enable communication over the distributed bus. For example, in one embodiment, the bus state information may include a well-known to unique endpoint name mapping, matching rules, routing group, or other suitable information. In one embodiment, the state information may be communicated between the bus node 712 and the bus node 732 instances using an interface with local endpoints 714 and 734 communicating with using a distributed bus based local name. In another aspect, bus node 712 and bus node 732 may each may maintain a local bus controller responsible for providing feedback to the distributed bus, wherein the bus controller may translate global methods, arguments, signals, and other information into the standards associated with the distributed bus. At message sequence step 764, the bus node 712 and the bus node 732 may communicate (e.g., broadcast) signals to inform the respective local endpoints 714 and 734 about any changes introduced during bus node connections, such as described above. In one embodiment, new and/or removed global and/or translated names may be indicated with name owner changed signals. Furthermore, global names that may be lost locally (e.g., due to name collisions) may be indicated with name lost signals. Still further, global names that are transferred due to name collisions may be indicated with name owner changed signals and unique names that disappear if and/or when the bus node 712 and the bus node 732 become disconnected may be indicated with name owner changed signals.

As used above, well-known names may be used to uniquely describe local endpoints 714 and 734. In one embodiment, when communications occur between Device A 710 and Device B 730, different well-known name types may be used. For example, a device local name may exist only on the bus node 712 associated with Device A 710 to which the bus node 712 directly attaches. In another example, a global name may exist on all known bus nodes 712 and 732, where only one owner of the name may exist on all bus segments. In other words, when the bus node 712 and bus node 732 are joined and any collisions occur, one of the owners may lose the global name. In still another example, a translated name may be used when a client is connected to other bus nodes associated with a virtual bus. In such an aspect, the translated name may include an appended end (e.g., a local endpoint 714 with well-known name “org.foo” connected to the distributed bus with Globally Unique Identifier “1234” may be seen as “G1234.org.foo”).

At message sequence step 766, the bus node 712 and the bus node 732 may communicate (e.g., broadcast) signals to inform other bus nodes of changes to endpoint bus topologies. Thereafter, traffic from local endpoint 714 may move through virtual endpoints to reach intended local endpoint 734 on Device B 730. Further, in operation, communications between local endpoint 714 and local endpoint 734 may use routing groups. In one aspect, routing groups may enable endpoints to receive signals, method calls, or other suitable information from a subset of endpoints. As such, a routing name may be determined by an application connected to a bus node 712 or 732. For example, a P2P application may use a unique, well-known routing group name built into the application. Further, bus nodes 712 and 732 may support registering and/or de-registering of local endpoints 714 and 734 with routing groups. In one embodiment, routing groups may have no persistence beyond a current bus instance. In another aspect, applications may register for their preferred routing groups each time they connect to the distributed bus. Still further, groups may be open (e.g., any endpoint can join) or closed (e.g., only the creator of the group can modify the group). Yet further, a bus node 712 or 732 may send signals to notify other remote bus nodes or additions, removals, or other changes to routing group endpoints. In such embodiments, the bus node 712 or 732 may send a routing group change signal to other group members whenever a member is added and/or removed from the group. Further, the bus node 712 or 732 may send a routing group change signal to endpoints that disconnect from the distributed bus without first removing themselves from the routing group.

In the near future, increasing development in IoT technologies will lead to numerous IoT devices surrounding a user at home, in vehicles, at work, and many other locations. As more and more devices become network-aware, problems that relate to configuring devices will become more acute. One issue is creating a seamless experience when upgrading or adding devices and transferring the end user's set of personal preferences from an old device to the new device. For example, a user may purchase a new smart TV that can tailor the viewing experiences to the person in the room. When the user first bought the old smart TV, the user had to program it with the user's preferences of what types of shows and movies the user likes to view, for example. The smart TV may also have learned these or other preferences of the user over time. When the user installs a new smart TV, however, the user will have to reprogram his or her personal preferences again, and/or the smart TV will have to learn these preferences again.

Accordingly, the disclosure provides a user preference service (which may be embodied in the preference/configuration module 216 in FIG. 2A) that enables new IoT devices to receive user preferences and/or device configuration information when being added to a local wireless network, such as the user's home network. The disclosed service allows a user to perform a one-time setup of user preferences and/or device configuration. Alternatively, the user preferences and/or device configuration information may be learned dynamically over time. When a new device is added to the user's network, it can receive and incorporate the user preferences and/or the device configuration information, thereby eliminating the need for the user to configure the new device.

For example, a user can specify that he or she prefers a temperature of 74 degrees while another user in the home prefers a temperature of 78 degrees. When the user first installs a new smart thermostat, the device will have some prior knowledge of the user's preferences that it can start with to jumpstart any learning algorithms that it may contain. Even if it is a non-learning thermostat but is able to understand these temperature preferences, it can appear smarter by being able to adjust the temperature to the median of the users in the home. As another example, referring to the smart TV example above, the smart TV may detect four people watching it and classify them by sex (male or female), age group, and interests, and automatically create profiles based on the user preferences it received when joining the network.

To accomplish this functionality, the user preference service can publish a signal that contains a table of user-entered and/or learned keys representing the user's preferences and/or device configuration information. This presents an interoperability issue regarding the meaning of the keys in the table, but this is beyond the scope of the disclosure and would be defined by a consortium/alliance to ensure interoperability. Each preference/configuration value can be marked as public or private to allow for a confirmation of whether or not to allow an IoT device to receive the preference/configuration.

The user preference service can also provide a learning algorithm that monitors the new IoT device to help “prefill” preference/configuration values into the table. For example, if the user watches primarily action movies, a “movie_interest” entry can be updated to include the genre “action.” Similarly, the user may have a preference that his or her smartphone always knows the temperature of the user's surroundings. At its core, this publication of data is about telling devices “Here is how I like things, can you help with that?” and allowing the devices to say, “If you like it that way, let me help change it for you.”

FIGS. 8A-C illustrate various examples of the user preference service in operation. The various IoT devices illustrated in FIGS. 8A-C may communicate with each other using a P2P protocol, as described above with reference to FIGS. 5-7.

FIG. 8A illustrates an example home network that includes a smart thermostat 804 in communication with a controller IoT device 802, shown as a tablet computer. Although the controller IoT device 802 is shown as a tablet computer, the disclosure is not so limited, and the controller IoT device 802 may be any IoT device capable of the functionality described herein, such as a smartphone, computer 120, supervisor 130, or IoT server 170 illustrated in FIG. 1B, IoT device 200A in FIG. 2A, or server 400 in FIG. 4. To implement the functionality described herein, the controller IoT device 802 may include the preference/configuration module 416 in FIG. 4.

The controller IoT device 802 can store the user's preferences and/or device configuration information for the various IoT devices attached to the user's home network. The user may have programmed the controller IoT device 802 with these preferences/configurations, and the controller IoT device 802 may have then published the preferences/configurations to the appropriate IoT devices. Alternatively, the controller IoT device 802 may have received the preferences/configurations from the IoT devices themselves after the IoT devices were programmed by the user and/or after the IoT devices learned one or more preferences of the user. In the latter case, the IoT devices may continue to update the controller IoT device 802 as they learn new preferences/configurations.

Referring to FIG. 8A, the smart thermostat 804 receives the user's temperature preference from the controller IoT device 802 and can adjust the temperature accordingly. For example, if the current temperature is 78 degrees, an algorithm within the smart thermostat 804 uses that information to adjust the temperature so that the room starts to cool down to the user-preferred temperature of 73 degrees. The smart thermostat 804 may include a preference/configuration module 216 to implement this functionality.

FIG. 8B illustrates an example home network that includes a smart television 806 in communication with the controller IoT device 802 shown in FIG. 8A. As illustrated in FIG. 8B, the smart television 806 may have learned certain user preferences, such as that the user's favorite channel is Channel 8. After communicating with the controller IoT device 802, the smart television 806 may discover that the user's favorite movie genre is “action.” The smart television 806 can add this user-defined preference to its list of locally stored user preferences. That is, the smart television 806 can augment the user preferences it learns over time with user preferences that the user explicitly defines. The smart television 806 may include a preference/configuration module 216 to implement this functionality.

FIG. 8C illustrates an example home network that includes the smart television 806 shown in FIG. 8B in communication with another smart television 808. In the example of FIG. 8C, the smart television 808 has been recently added to the user's home network. The smart television 808 may include a preference/configuration module 216 to implement the following functionality. Upon detecting the user's home network, the smart television 808 can request user preferences and/or device configuration information from similar IoT devices, such as smart television 806. The smart television 808 may broadcast the request to all IoT devices on the user's home network using a P2P protocol, as described above with reference to FIGS. 5-7. Alternatively, the smart television 806 may detect that a similar IoT device joined the user's home network and send any public user preferences and/or device configuration information it may have to the smart television 808. The smart television 806 may detect the smart television 808 by, for example, receiving an introduction or “about” message from the smart television 808.

Either way, the new smart television 808 receives the user preferences and/or device configuration information from the smart television 806 and updates or populates any similar user preferences and/or device configuration information with the received user preferences and/or device configuration information. In this way, the user will not have to program the smart television 808 with his or her preferences and/or device configuration information, nor will the smart television 808 have to learn user preferences and/or device configuration information that has already been learned by a similar IoT device, here, smart television 806.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary flow for setting user preference information and/or device configuration information of a first user device 902. The first user device 902 may be any IoT device, such as IoT device 200A in FIG. 2A. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the first user device 902 may communicate with a device 904. The device 904 may be a second user device, such as IoT device 200A, similar to the first user device 904 (e.g., the first user device 902 and the device 904 may both be smart TVs), or the device 904 may be a controller IoT device, such as supervisor device 130, server 400, or controller IoT device 802. The preference/configuration module 216 may implement the functionality of the first user device 902 described with reference to FIG. 9, in conjunction with other components of the first user device 902, such as a processor, a memory, and a transceiver. Where the device 904 corresponds to a second user device similar to the first user device 902, the preference/configuration module 216 may implement the functionality of the device 904 described with reference to FIG. 9, again in conjunction with other components of the device 904, such as a processor, a memory, and a transceiver. Alternatively, where the device 904 is a controller IoT device, the preference/configuration module 416 may implement the functionality of the device 904 described with reference to FIG. 9, in conjunction with other components of the device 904, such as a processor, a memory, and a transceiver.

The user preference information and/or device configuration information may initially be stored locally at the second user device, or may be stored at the controller IoT device. The first user device 902 and the device 904 may both belong to the same user of the local wireless network.

At 910, the device 904 optionally updates user preference information and/or device configuration information. Where the device 904 is the second user device, the device 904 may update the user preference information and/or device configuration information based on a learning algorithm. Alternatively, where the device 904 is the controller IoT device, the device 904 may store/update the user preference information and/or device configuration information in a memory of the device 904 after receiving the user preference information and/or device configuration information from the second user device.

The device configuration information may include configuration information that was not input by a user of the second user device 904. For example, the second user device 904 may update the configuration information based on a history of interactions with the user. As another example, the configuration information that was not input by the user may include preferences of the user that the second user device 904 learned based on a history of interactions with the user. As yet another example, the configuration information that was not input by the user may include one or more configurations of the second user device 904 that are not preferences of the user, such as an optimal temperature set by the manufacturer where the second user device 904 is a smart thermostat. As another example, the configuration information that was not input by the user may include one or more configurations of the second user device 904 that the second user device 904 learned based on a history of interactions with a plurality of users, such as a temperature that is an average of the plurality of users' preferred temperatures, again where the second user device 904 is a smart thermostat. The second user device 904 may also update the user preference information based on a history of interaction with the user of the second user device 904.

In an embodiment, the configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device may include all configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device. Alternatively, the configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device may include configuration information and/or preference information of one or more applications installed on the second user device.

At 920, the first user device 902 detects the local wireless network. The detecting may be an initial detection of the local wireless network.

At 930, the device 904 optionally detects that the first user device 902 has joined the local wireless network. Alternatively, at 940, the first user device 902 optionally requests user preference information and/or device configuration information. The first user device 902 may broadcast the request to each device on the local wireless network, or to the device 904 where the device 904 is a controller IoT device. Blocks 930 and 940 are optional, but one of them needs to be performed in order for the flow to proceed to 950.

At 950, the device 904, specifically, the preference/configuration module of the device 904, determines that the first user device 902 is similar to the second user device based on capability and/or configuration information of the first user device 902 and the second user device. The device 904 may determine that the second user device has functionality similar to the first user device 902 based on values representing capability and/or configuration information of the first user device 902 overlapping values representing capability and/or configuration information of the second user device.

At 960, in response to the determination at 950, the device 904 sends the device configuration information and/or user preference information of the second user device to the first user device 902. Alternatively, where the first user device 902 sends the request in 940 to the device 904 (where the device 904 is the controller IoT device), the device 904 may determine at 950 which user devices on the local wireless network have functionality similar to the first user device 902, e.g., the second user device, and instruct that user device to send the device configuration information and/or user preference information to the first user device 902 at 960, instead of the device 904 sending the device configuration information and/or user preference information to the first user device 902 itself.

At 970, the first user device 902 receives the device configuration information and/or user preference information from the device 904, or alternatively, the second user device.

At 980, the first user device 902 updates device configuration information and/or user preference information of the first user device 902 with at least a subset of the device configuration information and/or user preference information received from the device 904. The device configuration information and/or user preference information of the first user device 902 may be stored at the first user device 902. The updating may be an initial configuration of the first user device 902.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example user device apparatus 1000 represented as a series of interrelated functional modules. The user device apparatus 1000 may correspond to a user device, such as IoT device 200A in FIG. 2A. A module for detecting 1002 may correspond at least in some aspects to, for example, a communication device, such as transceiver 206, as discussed herein. A module for requesting 1004 may correspond at least in some aspects to, for example, a communication system, such as transceiver 206, as discussed herein. A module for receiving 1006 may correspond at least in some aspects to, for example, a communication device, such as transceiver 206, or a processing system, such as processor 208 in conjunction with the preference/configuration module 216, as discussed herein. A module for updating 1008 may correspond at least in some aspects to, for example, a processing system, such as processor 208 in conjunction with the preference/configuration module 216, as discussed herein.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example user device/controller device apparatus 1100 represented as a series of interrelated functional modules. The user device/controller device apparatus 1100 may correspond to a user device, such as IoT device 200A in FIG. 2A or the second user device discussed above with reference to FIG. 9. Alternatively, the user device/controller device apparatus 1100 may correspond to a controller IoT device, such as controller IoT device 802 in FIGS. 8A-C. Referring to FIG. 11, a module for updating 1102 may correspond at least in some aspects to, for example, a processing system, such as processor 208 or processor 401, in conjunction with a storage device, such as memory 212 or memory 403, as discussed herein. A module for detecting 1104 may correspond at least in some aspects to, for example, a communication system, such as transceiver 206 or network access ports 404, as discussed herein. A module for determining 1106 may correspond at least in some aspects to, for example, a processing system, such as processor 208 in conjunction with the preference/configuration module 216 or processor 401 in conjunction with the preference/configuration module 416, as discussed herein. A module for sending 1108 may correspond at least in some aspects to, for example, a processing system, such as processor 208 in conjunction with the preference/configuration module 216 or processor 401 in conjunction with the preference/configuration module 416, or a communication system, such as transceiver 206 or network access ports 404, as discussed herein.

The functionality of the modules of FIGS. 10-11 may be implemented in various ways consistent with the teachings herein. In some designs, the functionality of these modules may be implemented as one or more electrical components. In some designs, the functionality of these blocks may be implemented as a processing system including one or more processor components. In some designs, the functionality of these modules may be implemented using, for example, at least a portion of one or more integrated circuits (e.g., an ASIC). As discussed herein, an integrated circuit may include a processor, software, other related components, or some combination thereof. Thus, the functionality of different modules may be implemented, for example, as different subsets of an integrated circuit, as different subsets of a set of software modules, or a combination thereof. Also, it will be appreciated that a given subset (e.g., of an integrated circuit and/or of a set of software modules) may provide at least a portion of the functionality for more than one module.

In addition, the components and functions represented by FIGS. 10-11, as well as other components and functions described herein, may be implemented using any suitable means. Such means also may be implemented, at least in part, using corresponding structure as taught herein. For example, the components described above in conjunction with the “module for” components of FIGS. 10-11 also may correspond to similarly designated “means for” functionality. Thus, in some aspects one or more of such means may be implemented using one or more of processor components, integrated circuits, or other suitable structure as taught herein.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

Further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted to depart from the scope of the present disclosure.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

The methods, sequences and/or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM, flash memory, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in an IoT device. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes CD, laser disc, optical disc, DVD, floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically and/or optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

While the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects of the disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications could be made herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps and/or actions of the method claims in accordance with the aspects of the disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although elements of the disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for setting user preferences and/or device configuration information, comprising: detecting, by a first user device, a local wireless network; receiving, at the first user device from a second user device in the local wireless network, configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device, the second user device having functionality similar to the first user device; and updating, by the first user device, configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device with at least a subset of the configuration information and/or preference information received from the second user device, the configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device stored at the first user device, wherein the first user device updates the configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device without receiving an instruction from a user to update the configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second user device determines that it has functionality similar to the first user device based on capability and/or configuration information of the first user device and, in response to the determination, sends the configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device to the first user device.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second user device determines that it has functionality similar to the first user device based on values representing capability and/or configuration information of the first user device overlapping values representing capability and/or configuration information of the second user device.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration information of the second user device comprises configuration information that was not input by a user of the second user device.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the second user device updates the configuration information of the second user device based on a history of interaction with the user before sending the configuration information of the second user device to the first user device.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the configuration information that was not input by the user comprises preferences of the user that the second user device learned based on a history of interaction with the user.
 7. The method of claim 4, wherein the configuration information that was not input by the user comprises one or more configurations of the second user device that are not preferences of the user.
 8. The method of claim 4, wherein the configuration information that was not input by the user comprises one or more configurations of the second user device that the second user device learned based on a history of interactions with a plurality of users.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the second user device updates the preference information of the second user device based on a history of interaction with a user of the second user device before sending the preference information of the second user device to the first user device.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the updating comprises an initial configuration of the first user device.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting comprises an initial detection of the local wireless network.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first user device and the second user device belong to a user of the local wireless network.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device comprises configuration information and/or preference information of one or more applications installed on the second user device.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device comprises all configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device.
 15. An apparatus for setting user preferences and/or device configuration information, comprising: a transceiver configured to detect, at a first user device, a local wireless network, and to receive, from a second user device in the local wireless network, configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device, the second user device having functionality similar to the first user device; and a processor configured to update configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device with at least a subset of the configuration information and/or preference information received from the second user device, the configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device stored at the first user device, wherein the processor updates the configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device without receiving an instruction from a user to update the configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the second user device determines that it has functionality similar to the first user device based on capability and/or configuration information of the first user device and, in response to the determination, sends the configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device to the first user device.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the second user device determines that it has functionality similar to the first user device based on values representing capability and/or configuration information of the first user device overlapping values representing capability and/or configuration information of the second user device.
 18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the configuration information of the second user device comprises configuration information that was not input by a user of the second user device.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the second user device updates the configuration information of the second user device based on a history of interaction with the user before sending the configuration information of the second user device to the first user device.
 20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the configuration information that was not input by the user comprises preferences of the user that the second user device learned based on a history of interaction with the user.
 21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the configuration information that was not input by the user comprises one or more configurations of the second user device that are not preferences of the user.
 22. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the configuration information that was not input by the user comprises one or more configurations of the second user device that the second user device learned based on a history of interactions with a plurality of users.
 23. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the second user device updates the preference information of the second user device based on a history of interaction with a user of the second user device before sending the preference information of the second user device to the first user device.
 24. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor being configured to update comprises the processor being configured to update an initial configuration of the first user device.
 25. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the transceiver being configured to detect comprises the transceiver being configured to perform an initial detection of the local wireless network.
 26. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first user device and the second user device belong to a user of the local wireless network.
 27. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device comprises configuration information and/or preference information of one or more applications installed on the second user device.
 28. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device comprises all configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device.
 29. An apparatus for setting user preferences and/or device configuration information, comprising: means for detecting, by a first user device, a local wireless network; means for receiving, from a second user device in the local wireless network, configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device, the second user device having functionality similar to the first user device; and means for updating configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device with at least a subset of the configuration information and/or preference information received from the second user device, the configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device stored at the first user device, wherein the means for updating updates the configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device without receiving an instruction from a user to update the configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device.
 30. A non-transitory computer-readable medium for setting user preferences and/or device configuration information, comprising: at least one instruction to cause a first user device to detect a local wireless network; at least one instruction to cause the first user device to receive, from a second user device in the local wireless network, configuration information and/or preference information of the second user device, the second user device having functionality similar to the first user device; and at least one instruction to cause the first user device to update configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device with at least a subset of the configuration information and/or preference information received from the second user device, the configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device stored at the first user device, wherein the first user device updates the configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device without receiving an instruction from a user to update the configuration information and/or preference information of the first user device. 